West Chester teachers, district reach five-year pact

WEST GOSHEN — A tentative five-year deal between teachers and the West Chester Area School District moved closer to settlement Friday.

Teachers approved the contract agreement in a vote after school.

Next up is the school board. They will vote Monday night.

The two sides released a joint statement Friday night.

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“We believe this to be a fair deal for both sides,” said Debbie Fell, president of the West Chester Area Education Association, in the statement. “The school board came to the table and worked with our negotiating team to come to an agreement that would work for everyone, representing a fair contract for the teachers, the school district and the taxpayers who reside within the District.”

“The school board wants to thank the teachers and the community for their patience with this process, and is happy to have worked in partnership with the Association in reaching this tentative agreement,” said school board president Rick Swalm in the statement. “It is now incumbent upon the school board to approve this agreement so we can work together and focus on the reason we are here; the students and their learning.”

A special meeting of the school board will be 7:30 p.m. Monday at East High School, 450 Ellis Lane, West Goshen. It must be approved by a majority of the School Board members for ratification, said the release.

Once approved, the agreement will be in effect until the end of the 2016-2017 school year, said the release.

“We are very happy to have reached this tentative agreement with our teachers,” said schools Superintendent James R. Scanlon in the release. “I know the school board and teachers association worked under some very difficult financial parameters to develop a fair agreement for everyone.”

The latest settlement is the latest twist in frequently antagonistic negotiations between the two sides for several years.

Health insurance and wage increases left the two parties at loggerheads.

Fact finding failed to end the impasse.

Contracts presented in September and October to the union membership were rejected.

The union represents over 900 teachers, school counselors, nurses, school psychologists, librarians, and other educational specialists in the school district.

The dispute rolled over into local politics.

Four new school board members were elected in the fall, all claiming that they would be more conciliatory to teachers. A fifth school board member resigned, resulting in the appointment of another school board member who was viewed as conciliatory.

Details about the tentative agreement can be found on the District’s website, http://home.wcasd.net/files/_ycCTT_/77bc826492d8769f3745a49013852ec4/Post_to_Website_-_Special_Board_Meeting_Packet_March_31_2014.pdf